Volvo Is Teaching Cars To Talk To Each Other And The Road

Volvo is paving the way for the implementation of Car-2-Car and
Car-2-Object communication systems in its own vehicles with the
signing today of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with fellow
members of the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium being run in
Europe.

The consortium’s goal is to come to an agreement that will
eventually lead to shared technology for communication between
cars and roadside infrastructure by 2016, which hopefully will
mean safer and less congested roads in the future.

The technology is also a crucial element for the development of
autonomous cars, including the stepping stone
‘road train’ system that was successfully demonstrated by Volvo
and other firms in the recent SARTRE project.

Development under the new CAR 2 CAR project encompasses several
different research fields. Some relate to the way cars can
communicate with each other (Car-2-Car), for instance, to provide
information in the event of road-works or a road accident, while
others focus on how the infrastructure can convey information
about what is happening along the route (Car-2-Object).

Experts believe roads could be made safer and traffic congestion
reduced by using communications technology to integrate vehicles
with each other and with transport infrastructure. For example,
if the tail-end of a traffic jam is hidden behind the crest of a
hill or heavy fog, vehicles approaching the problem area can be
alerted in good time, allowing the driver to take appropriate
action, or perhaps even enabling autonomous systems to take
control and prevent an impending crash.

In addition to this, another benefit is improved fuel economy.
For example, via a transmitter attached to a traffic light, a
driver can be informed about what speed to maintain in order to
make it through several consecutive green lights. This has a range of benefits
such as steadier traffic flow, greater comfort for drivers, lower
fuel consumption and lower emissions.